Epic Weekend Part 2:

Saturday:
I slept in to the best of my abilities, but had to get up at 12 because I had decided to attend Santiago’s Annual Gay Pride Parade!! In the subway there are bulletin boards that advertise all sorts of concerts, protests and conferences, and the “Marcha para la Diversidad Sexual” had caught my attention right away. I’ve always wanted to go to a gay pride parade in America but never been able because of scheduling/transportation issues. Plus, Chile is still a hugely homophobic country, so I find myself even more aware of sexual orientation and gender injustice here.

Anyway, after convincing my friends that marching on a cloudy day with any number of gay Chileans would be a fabulous adventure, we met up in the heart of downtown Santiago on Saturday afternoon. My friend Hope from Kalamazoo college who is studying abroad in Valparaiso took a bus down for the event, and after going out for lunch, we met up with the rest of our friends and started decking ourselves in rainbow paraphernalia.

I had conveniently brought my “Pace” flag, which for those of you who don’t know, is Peace in Italian and happens to be written on a rainbow background! Tons of vendors were selling homemade rainbow flags, varying in size and material (some were tiny crepe paper ones, others huge silk flags worn as capes)so by the end the crowd was a sea of colors. There were floats with mostly men in various stages of undress, a couple dozen drag queens sprinkled around and a wonderful drumline. The march started with a rally whose highlight, at least for me, was an awesome Lady Gaga impersonator and then the surprising booing of Eduardo Frei’s spokesperson who had come to offer her (questionable) support. However, I thought it was interesting that Frei was the only Presidential candidate to even send a rep… By the end of the rally, there were at least 10,000 people amassed in the Plaza and we began to march down the main street of Santiago, alternately called Avenida Providencia, Avenida Alameda and then, Avenida Bernardo O’Higgins.

As most of you know, I’m a sucker for a good march, and this one was great. We took over three lanes of traffic and drew all of downtown’s attention. As far as I could tell, there were very few, if any, hecklers, and despite the presence of a couple dozen anarchists…yes I know anarchists aren’t always violent but still… no violence. After posing for semi-provocative pictures in front of the capitol building, the march ended in a big celebration with, of course, more Lady Gaga impersonators. I think she’s giving Cher a run for her money as musical icon for the gay community.


Oh also, since I had brought my Pace flag, and we were marching with it stretched out through the streets, we were stopped all the time for photo ops with random people and even interviewed! If anything comes of the interviews, I’ll be sure to post a link. Plus we made some lesbian friends who were awesome and want to take us clubbing!! Not sure if I’ll be taking them up on the offer, but its still flattering…

Overall, an incredibly fun, informative and energizing Saturday afternoon, and I’m so happy to have been able to do something to show my support for a still very marginalized and oppressed group in Chile. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.